Co-operative Development Agency
The final item of business is a members' business debate on motion S2M-827, in the name of Johann Lamont, on planning for a co-operative development agency. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament notes the crucial role of co-operative and mutual organisations within local communities and across Scotland; recognises the wide variety in size, capacity and in areas of activity of co-operative and mutual initiatives; congratulates those involved within the co-operative and mutual sector both on the key role they play in local and Scottish-wide economic activity and in delivering social justice; welcomes the commitment of the Scottish Executive to establish a co-operative development agency—CDA—and believes that departments across the range of Executive responsibilities must work together to ensure that the CDA will effectively support and strengthen co-operative and mutual enterprises in all their diversity.
I am very pleased that the motion on the establishment of a co-operative development agency has been accepted for debate today and I thank members who signed it. I declare an interest as a member of the Co-operative Party and of the Co-operative group of members of the Scottish Parliament.
Members might be aware that the commitment to establish a co-operative development agency is in the partnership agreement. It might not be as visible or controversial a commitment as others in the document are—we will perhaps leave those for another day—but its inclusion is an important milestone in the work to recognise, promote and strengthen the co-operative and mutual sector. That work is important in any process of developing and strengthening local economies and the broader Scottish economy.
I thank all those people who have worked so hard in a variety of organisations to develop the policy in support of the co-operative sector. In particular, I pay tribute to Joe Hill, who will soon retire from his post as deputy national secretary of the Co-operative Party. He shares his name with a revered progressive figure of international renown, but in the co-operative movement in Scotland and beyond, our Joe Hill is every bit as admired. He was the first to recognise the importance of a co-operative development agency and drove the policy with great determination. When the agency becomes a reality, it will represent a fitting achievement to mark his long years of fighting for the co-operative movement and its values.
There is a growing awareness of the importance of the sector, but there remains insufficient understanding of its diversity—in size, scale, areas of activity and impact. Whatever we do around the sector, it will be important to hold on to what is good and unique to the sector and to recognise that some of the joy of the co-operative movement is its very unpredictability. We do not want to lose that element.
Co-operatives provide the most successful examples of businesses that operate for more than profit. Their social purpose is supported by a business model that relies on income generation to be sustainable, rather than one which depends on long-term grants or subsidies.
Co-operation, of course, has a long and proud history; it emerged from people's experiences and developed from their desires for local solutions. It was not based on an academic model—indeed, academia is constantly catching up with the reality of the co-operative movement. It will be important, as we develop the policy around the agency, to look to the real experts inside the movement, to ensure that the agency meets the aspirations that they have for it. We should talk to and work in partnership with the Scottish Co-op, Co-operation and Mutuality Scotland and the range of organisations that represent the sector.
Co-operatives are strengthened by their democratic dimension and stakeholders including customers, service users, employees or the wider community can engage more deeply with their operations through ownership and governance mechanisms. Co-operative businesses benefit from the ability to tap into local knowledge and generate a loyalty to which other businesses can only aspire. The housing co-op movement demonstrates the importance of that dimension and provides us with great lessons on how we shape and deliver services by talking to the people who will use them. There is no doubt that the co-operative housing sector has been excellent; it owes its success precisely to its ability to talk to those who know best what they want their housing to be like.
Co-operation is remarkable in its capacity to survive, modernise and find new expression. It can offer real solutions in all the areas that we consider important today, such as health, housing and community services. Co-operation has survived despite the fact that it has received little or no state intervention or acknowledgment. The wish to establish a co-operative development agency is, in part, about redressing the balance in relation to the attention that Government has given to different parts of the economy. The establishment of the CDA would represent recognition that we can have social entrepreneurs and enterprises that can have a huge impact on the economy and, in particular, on local economic activity.
It is important that the agency should identify how best it can support current co-operative initiatives and innovation, so that co-operation is not regarded just as an option of last resort when a business is in crisis, as happens too often currently. We do not seek to make a special case for the sector, but we want its importance to have equal value and recognition within economic policy. I will be interested to hear how the Executive plans to progress its commitment to the establishment of a CDA, what its timetable of action will be and who it will ensure is involved in the process of developing the agency.
In making progress on the issue, I want to emphasise the need to take account of the diversity of the sector and of the diverse benefits of its existence. There are economic goals and social goals, both of which are locked together in the co-operative movement. The diversity of the sector means that there is a place for all Scottish Executive departments in ensuring that the CDA is established in such a way that it is effective.
The involvement of the whole Scottish Executive must not act as a means of putting a brake on development, however; it should be the means of facilitating the development of a body that will do what we aspire that it should do. Although the CDA will need to work with other agencies, I would be concerned if we were to discover that it was to be subsumed in another agency such as Scottish Enterprise.
I want to highlight the fact that the agency should not just be about economic activity. The CDA could have an important role in promoting the co-operative ethos and approach, particularly to young people. In that regard, I commend the work of Young Co-operatives, which is supported by, among others, the Scottish Co-op. In Scotland, Young Co-operatives is being offered as a pilot scheme in 10 schools. It is working with more than 150 young people to support young co-operative enterprises.
Young Co-operatives also has an added and important focus on fair trade and brings co-operative enterprise properly into the enterprise agenda. It is a good example of the challenge we face in enhancing economic and social policy and in increasing through education opportunities for people who look for co-operative solutions to the problems that face them and their communities.
I commend the proposal for the development of the co-operative development agency. I urge the Scottish Executive and the minister to make time to ensure that real progress is made on the establishment of an effective agency that will support those who are developing, or who could or would develop co-operative options.
I draw attention to an entry in my register of interests, which shows that I am a policyholder in the mutual investment company Standard Life. I used to be in other mutual companies, but they are no longer mutuals.
I did not sign Johann Lamont's motion but only because of pure inadvertence on my part, for which I apologise. I take the opportunity to congratulate her on securing the debate.
I will not speak at great length. I am in the chamber purely because of the inclemency of the weather, which makes my journey north rather uncertain. I hope that that is not a situation that too many members in the chamber share. Perhaps members who are not here have dashed off in the hope that they can beat the weather to Aberdeen—or is there something going on in Inverness?
Community businesses are an essential part of engaging people in the interests and responsibilities of community life. They are something that I have always supported.
Yesterday's meeting of the Communities Committee turned into a most entertaining hour's discussion of the forthcoming changes to United Kingdom company law, which will introduce new vehicles such as community interest companies and community interest public limited companies. I see fellow members flinching at the thought of my going on at length on the subject, but I do not intend to do so. The debate on CICs indicates, however, that there is life in the old beast yet.
The company in which I have the most particular interest from the point of view of mutuality is Standard Life. I led the campaign in 2000 that defeated Fred Woollard when he wanted to capture the assets of the members of that company for stock market interests. Thankfully, we got a substantial vote against his attempt to do so.
People forget that Standard Life was an ordinary company until the 1920s. It was founded in the 19th century, but chose mutuality as a way of taking its business forward because it realised that its future lay in engaging with its customers. Mutuality enabled the dividends that it paid to be given to its customers by way of the products that it sold and delivered.
That point leads neatly into the issue of dividends from co-operative companies, co-operative enterprises, mutual enterprises and credit unions, all of which come under the same umbrella.
When we talk about dividends, far too often we think simply of a cheque that is provided to people who have put up money and have otherwise got no engagement whatever in the business of the company in which they have invested. Some people think of a business purely as a cash cow to be milked for everything that it has got and in which there is short-term interest in getting money out of it. Co-ops, mutual enterprises and credit unions are to be congratulated on representing our communities at their finest, with people co-operating not for the financial benefits that accrue, but for the mutual benefits that society will accrue and which people who join together and work together deliver to us.
I am happy to support the establishment of a co-operative development agency, to which Johann Lamont's motion refers. I hope that it does not get subsumed in the maw of Scottish Enterprise, because it would be of a very different character from the kind of thing in which Scottish Enterprise gets involved. However, I expect it to work co-operatively with Scottish Enterprise. I congratulate Johann Lamont and give her my support.
I declare an interest similar to Johann Lamont's, as I am also a sponsored member of the Co-operative Party and a member of my local co-op.
It is fitting that, on the 20th anniversary of the miners' strike, I should remind the chamber of the co-operative tradition that was then and is still alive in Scotland to an extent that I have not seen anywhere else in the United Kingdom. It is worth reminding ourselves that, during the 20 years since that dreadful time, many of the community businesses that sprang up have become successful local businesses in their own right. The mutual support ethos is one that is fitting in our Scottish society, where we still have a tradition of caring about what happens in our local communities.
It is time to explode the myth that mutual ownership is somehow not compatible with running a successful business. Stewart Stevenson spoke about Standard Life, but I could also cite the Dunfermline Building Society, the Nationwide Building Society and the Co-operative Insurance Society. The Co-op, with its emphasis on fair trade, supports the world's developing nations and helps them to grow their economies. Today, Mike Watson and I met representatives of Scottish Business in the Community and heard about the push that many big organisations are now making to show what they do for their communities as part of corporate social responsibility—for the environment, for society and for diversity in the work force.
Another myth is that co-ops, as opposed to mutuals, are composed of well-meaning volunteers who, without any pay or training but with worthy intent, do good deeds in the locality but are somehow doomed to fail. Any successful co-operative business must be an economic entity that is capable of standing alone. However it gains its funding—whether through some method of public funding, through the goods that it sells or through its activities—it must be able to wash its face. There is a range of possibilities, and Johann Lamont very ably listed them. They include housing, social care and health, transport, agriculture and now sport—even football, as many of us are involved in developing supporters' trusts.
I ask the minister to confirm that, when he draws up the remit for the co-operative development agency, he will ensure that it takes account of the need for training, both for management and for boards, and of the legal issues that will be involved in establishing such organisations. The agency must also consider governance and financial probity but, most important of all, it must have the support of every single minister in the Scottish Executive. The civil service must be under no doubt that the agency has that support and that it is to work as part of the economic life of Scotland. In that way, we can take account of and build on the willingness of people in our communities to work on behalf of their communities and to build successful economic units in them. I commend Johann Lamont's motion, I give it my whole-hearted support and I look forward to responding to the consultation document when it is produced.
I warmly congratulate Johann Lamont on lodging her motion. She spoke about the Labour Party's long tradition of co-operation and about the Co-operative Party. There is also such a tradition in the Liberal Democrats. Co-operation has been a strong trend for us and we have had a strong philosophical commitment to it for many years, particularly against the background of our commitment to a decentralised approach and to community power in all its forms.
Johann Lamont touched on the sector's sheer diversity, which is an extremely important aspect, and to that I would add its independence. It shares with the voluntary sector as a whole several characteristics that we want to develop. The areas in which people co-operate include business and enterprise co-operatives and housing co-operatives, although it is fair to say that those are not as well developed in Scotland as they are in Scandinavia, for example. We might consider why that is the case and why we in Scotland have gone in the slightly different direction of housing associations rather than towards the co-operative sector as such. Other areas include education and training co-operatives, retail co-operatives, food co-operatives, a variety of arts and cultural organisations, youth organisations, and credit unions. Areas in which people co-operate even include things like farmers' markets, which might not be set up in quite the same way but have the same important ideas behind them.
As a philosophical background to the matter, I take the idea that we live in plural society in which we have central Government in its various forms, local government, and the third sector, of which the co-operative and mutual sector is an important aspect. I confess that I have struggled with how we can make the sector more independent. It is important that the agency does not become just a vehicle for the delivery of central or local government objectives. The sector has its own agenda and its own strength, which comes from its diversity, and it is important for us to support that approach.
Of course, the partnership strongly committed itself to the idea of a co-operative development agency in the recent partnership agreement, and I look forward to that being put in place. I understand that Lewis Macdonald has had several meetings with interested groups in the area. I stress that it is important for the agency to be not a top-down central Government agency but something that is solidly and independently built up from the bottom on the basis of the co-operative and mutual organisations that exist.
Stewart Stevenson touched on the sheer width and potential of the concept in his reference to Standard Life—in which I also have an interest, pension-wise. The sector has been talked about as a mechanism for delivering water services, for example, and there is still relevance in that point. It also has potential in renewable energy, given the way in which wind power machinery can benefit local communities, for example. Some interesting experiments are taking place in Argyll and Bute in that connection. There is considerable scope for basing the sector's dynamism on that idea and on the different legal formulations that are now available to support community trusts and other such organisations that have a part to play.
My final point is on the importance of community business, which is where Johann Lamont started. Over the years, I have had dealings with organisations such as the Wise Group, which is active in the field and which was built up from an idea. It had little experience in the beginning, but developed its expertise and ended up as a major organisation that makes a major contribution not only to the economy of Glasgow and beyond but to the social fabric of the area through employment and so on. The proposed co-operative development agency is perhaps not the sexiest issue on the partnership's agenda, but it is certainly one of the most important. I have great pleasure in giving support to it and to Johann Lamont's motion.
When Stewart Stevenson spoke, I was reminded that I am a member of a co-operative as well: I am a member of the Inverness credit union.
I thank Johann Lamont for the opportunity to speak in the debate. I would not say that I am an expert on the social economy or the co-operative movement, but what is good about being asked to speak in a debate is that it forces us to read about a subject. I am delighted that I did so.
I welcome Johann Lamont's comments about the sector's diversity. However, the document "A review of the Scottish Executive's Policies to promote the Social Economy", which was published in January 2003 by the then Minister for Social Justice, Margaret Curran, says:
"the role of Scottish Enterprise and its associated network should be to concentrate on the support and development of social economy businesses".
Perhaps the fact that a minister with responsibility for enterprise is to respond to today's debate answers Stewart Stevenson's question about the agency being subsumed in the enterprise network.
The document also says:
"The purpose of this review … is to assess the social economy's potential to contribute to the achievement of key Scottish Executive objectives and to identify how the Executive and other public sector and independent agencies might help the sector to realise its potential."
I hope that the co-operative development agency will be part of a wider strategy to support the social economy. The agency may be welcome, but I hope that it will not be the only outcome of the social economy policy review and that such a wider plan will include a range of support measures for social firms.
In talking about social firms and the co-operative movement, we should acknowledge the extent of corporate social responsibility activities by many small and large private firms, such as Lloyds TSB and the Bank of Scotland, and the sponsorship by many firms of arts, culture and sport in Scotland. The social economy has great potential.
I will quote from "A Smart Co-operative Scotland", which contains research by Co-operation and Mutuality Scotland. The document starts by talking about co-operative values. The values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equal rights, equity, members supporting one another and
"the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others"
are basic Conservative principles of which Mrs Thatcher would be proud. I am pleased that Johann Lamont endorses those principles. Perhaps we have a little more in common than we realised.
"A Smart Co-operative Scotland" refers to the Scottish Association of Farmers Markets, whose champion I am delighted to say is my colleague John Scott. I am pleased to leave the debate about farmers' markets with him.
In the short time that remains, I will talk about Highland Wholefoods Workers Co-operative, which is based in Inverness and covers the Highlands and Islands. It supplies not only health food shops, but hotels, pubs and others. The enterprise was established in 1989 by five people who contributed £1,000 each and received the support of a Government enterprise scheme—under the Tories, of course. Highland Wholefoods has been going for more than 14 years. It supplies something that people cannot find elsewhere in Inverness and the rest of the Highlands. That is an example of a welcome, green and organic organisation that might not have been established in any other guise.
I welcome the debate and thank Johann Lamont for lodging the motion. It is important to discuss social enterprise and one aspect of its development in Scotland.
Social enterprises contribute greatly to Scottish society in many ways. They combine jobs and economic dynamism with an ethos of being for more than profit, as Johann Lamont said. It is important to recognise that.
Social enterprise is not part of the voluntary sector; it is distinct, because it combines the voluntary sector's ethos with the spirit of enterprise. That is why social enterprises are an important, creative and potentially dynamic part of the Scottish economy.
I welcome the proposed co-operative development agency as part of the development of social enterprise. It is something that is wanted very much by the social economy sector. We should provide assistance and support to people who want to set up a social enterprise, whatever form that takes.
In my previous existence, I did a lot of work supporting community forestry enterprises up and down Scotland. That involved advising community groups that wanted to take over the management of their local forests on some of the different ways in which they could advance such projects. Sometimes a co-operative was appropriate, sometimes a community trust was appropriate and sometimes a charitable company limited by guarantee was appropriate. As Mary Scanlon said, we must think about the role of the co-operative development agency as part of a wider vision of supporting social enterprise in Scotland. There is already a broad range of organisations that support the different kinds and aspects of social enterprise. The co-operative development agency has an important role to play in that framework, but it should not be the entire support mechanism for social enterprise. Each different part of the sector needs an appropriate support structure.
I agree with the suggestion that the agency should be separate from the enterprise networks. Co-operatives mix some of the ethos of the voluntary sector with the enterprise spirit. As has been said, the agency should run across departments, link to all branches of the social economy sector, concentrate on supporting co-operatives and link with all aspects of government.
Johann Lamont spoke about promoting social enterprise. It is essential to the development of the social economy sector that the co-operative option is fitted into education. If someone goes to Companies House and says that they are interested in starting a business, they must be informed of the whole range of options, including co-operatives. The proposed agency should take as part of its remit promotion, education and linking up with people who are thinking about setting up a company, to ensure that co-operatives are recognised as an option.
If we want the co-operative development agency to become a success, we must consider education and how the agency will fit into the wider sector. I strongly support the motion and efforts towards establishing a co-operative development agency, but we must recognise that it fits into a wider, distinct social economy sector, within which it should play its appropriate part.
I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this important debate. Like my colleagues, I wish to declare an interest—I am a member of the Co-operative Party and a sponsored Co-operative MSP.
In the true spirit of co-operation, I thank my colleague Johann Lamont for lodging this motion and allowing us to celebrate the co-operative sector's contribution to the economic and social well-being of our communities. The real advantage of the co-operative model is that it adds value by providing an opportunity for those involved to contribute more fully to the operation, ownership and governance of a business. That can help to give businesses a competitive advantage, because stakeholders have true ownership, loyalty and knowledge acquisition.
I am proud to be a member of the Co-operative group of MSPs, which, along with Johann Lamont, welcomes this opportunity to thank Joe Hill for his tireless commitment to the co-operative sector. We all support Joe's vision of a co-operative that is rooted in the community it serves. It is important to note that co-operatives exist to provide services to their members rather than profits for stakeholders.
It is estimated that social economy organisations contribute about 10 per cent of gross domestic product. They form a stakeholder economy in which consumers and employees are given a meaningful opportunity to get involved. The co-operative movement in Britain has a long history of consumer and employee involvement and the idea has been taken up by 800 million co-operators worldwide. The United Nations estimates that almost 3 billion livelihoods worldwide are made secure by co-operative enterprise.
Protection of the rights of citizens as consumers, employees and those without work is still of great importance to society and the co-operative movement.
Christine May alluded to the miners' strike and the years of fragmentation in society from 1979 to 1997. I cannot agree with Mary Scanlon about Margaret Thatcher's contribution. The co-operative movement has tried to meet the real needs of ordinary people. Representing the views of more than 8 million co-operative members throughout the United Kingdom, the Co-operative Party and the Labour Party have worked closely to achieve core objectives and put into practice the principles of co-operating, protecting and promoting consumers' rights.
Co-operation goes far beyond simply working together: it is about democracy and enabling ordinary people to become involved in the organisations around them and to participate in decisions about the future of their communities.
Given that the co-operative movement is about equal opportunities, equal access and social inclusion, does the member also include members of the Conservative, Liberal and other political parties, apart from the Labour Party?
I am talking about the work that I see happening within the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party, which is what Mary Scanlon would expect me to do. The co-operative movement is much broader.
I welcome the commitment to the co-operative development agency: it is an innovative means of boosting the economy while addressing important social issues. It would exist to assist in the creation and development of community and social enterprises. I hope that the minister will take on board that it should cross Executive portfolios. It has to address problems of social exclusion by giving people access to training, advice and services that will allow them to achieve their aims.
Co-ops are good for the economy, they are a positive force in our community and the establishment of a Scottish CDA is good news for all in Scotland.
I congratulate Johann Lamont on securing the debate and I apologise for not being in the chamber to hear all of her speech.
I must declare some interests: I am chairman of the Scottish Association of Farmers Markets, chairman of Ayrshire farmers' market and a member of the Ayrshire country lamb group. They are all co-operatives that I have played a part in creating. I am also a member of about half a dozen others, but I will not go into that.
Co-operatives have a central role to play in new business start-ups. They have other functions, of course, but they are valuable in the creation of new businesses. When an individual is aware of a business opportunity and is sufficiently motivated, he or she will set up their own business or company to satisfy the demand. However, not all individuals have the certainty, the capital or the time to take the risks involved in setting up a new business on their own, and the co-operative route provides them with an opportunity.
Working together collectively, groups of individuals from my background—farming—were able to pool their resources of time, intellect and talent to create businesses that they would not have been able to create individually. In addition, support was in place through the Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society, which has a distinguished history in rural areas of supporting new and well-established co-operatives as well as some of Scotland's most valuable businesses. The expertise and corporate memory of that organisation would be a worthwhile model on which the CDA could build. That co-operative route has spawned many new businesses that would not otherwise have got off the ground.
As is obvious, new businesses create jobs. That has been the greatest satisfaction in supporting more than 50 farmers' markets in Scotland. Working as part of a co-operative has given many of our members the confidence to start up other businesses, such as farm shops, butcher shops and online and direct selling businesses, which are vital in Scotland's currently faltering economy.
At its simplest, co-operation provides an essential stepping stone to allow those with entrepreneurial instincts to take the first step. Of course, many might choose to remain within the collective arena of responsibility that co-operation gives, and that is fine. It is essential that co-operation is fostered, encouraged and developed because, as well as supporting businesses, it strengthens a sense of community.
In the short time that I have left, I would like to develop that point. Whether in urban or in rural areas, co-operatives that are working well together create an enhanced sense of community. Mutual goals that are achieved through co-operation bring satisfaction to those who are involved and develop the transferable team-building skills that are vital to re-establishing a sense of community in areas where it has been lost. Virtual communities, too, can be creative via the internet and can enhance co-operation and a sense of community.
I wish the co-operative development agency well. I look forward to hearing of its creation and seeing it succeed.
I, too, declare an interest as a member of the Co-operative group of MSPs. I am also proud to be a direct descendent of James Standring, one of the Rochdale pioneers who were the founders of the co-operative movement. Like others, I welcome the debate and congratulate Johann Lamont on bringing the topic to the Parliament for debate.
I will begin by talking about a remarkable community business in Mayfield, which is in my constituency. In 1988, residents of Mayfield conceived an idea to revitalise the local community following the virtual shut-down of the mining industry in the area. They tried to create jobs in the wake of losing thousands of jobs following the closure of pits and other places of employment in the area. The long-term unemployment effects on the local economy and local businesses had been incredibly severe.
The founders of McSence initiated the idea of forming a community business that would provide employment and profits to regenerate the local community. They have done just that. The original idea was to collect £5 a week from local businesses for one year, as a contribution to start-up costs for the community-owned business. Those contributions totalled £700,000 and a steering group was set up to decide on the first business venture. Today, McSence has seven companies that contribute to the regeneration of the community in Midlothian and a turnover in excess of £3 million. It produces annual profits of £250,000, which are ploughed back into the community. McSence has won several prestigious awards for its initiative and, in my view, it is a shining star in the eyes of social enterprise throughout the UK.
I want to ask the minister about an issue that has come up in my discussions with McSence. Currently, McSence and other social enterprises fall into a rather grey area, being neither commercial organisations nor public sector bodies. That causes them certain problems, especially in procurement procedures. When it comes to putting in tenders, they are expected to provide a track record of delivering tenders on time and on budget, but they do not have that track record if they are not able to bid successfully for contracts. It is a chicken-and-egg scenario. I ask the minister to consider creating a level playing field for social enterprises in public and private sector procurement—at least on a trial basis. That would enable firms such as McSence to prove their effectiveness and efficiency in delivering projects on time and on budget.
I would like to add to John Scott's comments about the importance of community development and co-operatives in rural areas. The Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society, which is currently supported by the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department, has a tremendous track record of creating and guiding successful agricultural co-ops in the countryside. There is no doubt that, with the massive changes that are taking place in the countryside, that organisation has an important role to play.
There are opportunities for co-operation in farming, but there are other opportunities such as improving the Scottish diet via food co-ops that link growers directly to consumers, the processing of local foods locally, farmers' markets, web trading, farm shops, direct sales to hotels, introducing broadband services to remote communities, rural housing developments and waste recycling, to mention but a few. It is time to provide the kind of specialist support and development services that will enable all those opportunities to be fully developed. They create social inclusion, market inclusion and business skills development. They also sustain local employment, local investment and local self-help and they can secure reinvestment in years to come.
As I believe that SAOS has an important role to play, I ask the minister to discuss with the society and the Minister for Environment and Rural Development the way forward to ensure that its expertise is used.
I am happy to support the motion.
I, too, join members of all parties in congratulating Johann Lamont on securing the debate and echo the comments that she and Marilyn Livingstone made about our colleague Joe Hill.
Members have left no doubt about their level of commitment to co-operation and mutuality. It is shared by the Scottish ministers and underpins our proposal in the partnership agreement to establish a co-operative development agency in Scotland. Although other aspects of the social economy are important, the agency will work in the productive economy and promote co-operative enterprise. I will focus on that area in my speech.
I should first declare my interests in this matter. Like Johann Lamont and other members, I am a member both of the Scottish Co-op and of the Co-operative Party. I am also a patron of Aberdeen Football Supporters' Trust. Although it is not the same trust as the one Christine May mentioned, it follows the same principle and is a new type of vehicle that allows communities to take a stake in the things that matter. Moreover, with my wife and children, I am a stakeholder in a mutual building society that holds a mortgage on our home. I share those interests with many of my ministerial colleagues as well as with many members who have spoken in this debate.
I am glad to have an opportunity to reaffirm our recognition of the importance of co-operative and mutual organisations in contributing to the growth of our economy, providing jobs and offering economic and social benefits to local communities.
Our future economic success will depend on our ability to sustain greater entrepreneurship and creativity; to support enterprise and responsible risk taking; to tackle cultural and social barriers to entrepreneurship; and to promote innovative, imaginative ways of mobilising labour, capital and business ideas such as co-operative enterprises and mutual ownership.
Our commitment to establishing the co-operative development agency can play a key role in carrying forward that agenda. We will look to the agency to help promote, create and develop dynamic and sustainable co-operatives in a number of sectors of the Scottish economy because of the benefits they bring to the economy.
As members have pointed out, the co-operative vision is nothing new. It dates from the time of the industrial revolution 200 years ago and members who have visited New Lanark will have witnessed its evocative reminder of the vision of economic efficiency and social justice that motivated Robert Owen and so many others, including Rhona Brankin's ancestor and the other Rochdale pioneers in 1844.
From the beginning, co-operatism has been internationalist. I have no doubt that the Rochdale pioneers and Robert Owen would have approved of the fact that this Parliament debated free trade—[Laughter.] Sorry, that was a Freudian slip—I meant "fair trade". They would have approved of the debate that we had before Christmas on fair trade and promoting produce from poorer countries in British markets.
Furthermore, co-operatism has been political from the beginning. The vision of co-operative production and co-operative trade went hand in hand with the vision of workers united to improve working and living conditions. Both those elements went together with the politics of Chartism and the demand for political rights and for a social justice agenda in central and local government. Such things remain true today. In that respect, I was delighted to hear Mary Scanlon this evening sign the Tory party up to the co-operative values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. Given how widely those principles and values are shared, it is essential that they provide the foundation stones on which the co-operative development agency is built.
Does the minister agree that the values to which he has just alluded are universal and are not, as some of his colleagues would suggest, just the domain of the Labour Party?
I am delighted by that question. Those of us in other parts of the chamber welcome the Conservatives' commitment henceforth to social equality.
As far as the co-operative development agency is concerned, we will issue a formal consultation document in the next few weeks to inform the development of policy, and will consult on it over a three-month period
As Robert Brown mentioned, my officials and I have met key players in the sector informally to discuss the way forward and we will continue that process. We have had valuable inputs from the Scottish Trades Union Congress, Co-operation and Mutuality Scotland and others.
We will set out in the consultation document ideas about the scope of the agency, its focus and priorities, the type of body it should be, its proper relationship with the enterprise networks and its relationship with the allied but distinct areas of the social economy that have been mentioned during the debate. One option that we will lay out is for the agency to provide a first-stop shop for those seeking access to the expertise, advice, training and resources required to support the establishment of new co-operative enterprises. The agency might also offer support services to enhance the growth of existing co-operatives.
There are start-up processes in any new business and we will ask for people's views on that area. We will also consult on potential sources of funding and how the CDA can provide a voice to develop innovative approaches for expanding the sector's contribution to the Scottish economy and to developing international links.
Rhona Brankin asked important questions about social enterprises such as McSence. We are considering a range of ways to improve access to Government contracts and improve the levelness of the playing field for procurement. We will consider Rhona Brankin's suggestions in that context.
I agree with the point, which a number of members made, that the agency must be able to work with Executive departments across all portfolios and across the range of policy. That is happening, as officials from a variety of departments are involved in the discussions.
As has been said, a good deal of work is being done to promote co-operation, with support from the Scottish ministers, in sectors such as agricultural co-operatives, housing and sport. It will be extremely important for the agency to take account of work already under way and to avoid duplication and confusion. Instead, we should learn from the good example of other types of co-operative that are already in place.
The CDA will be important to the Executive and to all who recognise the importance of the co-operative dimension to the history of the wider Labour movement, the cause of social justice and progressive politics in general. Co-operation does not just have a distinguished history; it has the potential for an exciting and dynamic future, not least in economic growth. That is why the consultation on the CDA will be so important and why we will consider the responses to the consultation carefully—to ensure that our conclusions are well founded and command broad support, thereby providing the basis for the CDA's growth, once it is established, over the years to come.
Meeting closed at 17:58.